Sunday, December 15, 2013

Today is the last day of my vacation. For the past two weeks, I have indulged myself senseless; tomorrow, I return to reality. Though I do look forward to going back to work, I am ever so thankful for the respite, because I Had A Ball!! I spent 3 days in Clovis, NM visiting my youngest daughter and her husband, then drove to Oklahoma to visit the oldest daughter and her family. My bottom half was not used to so much sitting, but the visit was sooooo worth the horrendous drive. Got home the day before the major ice fest that hit the Dallas Metroplex, which forced me to stay home, stay inside, enjoy the fire in the fireplace, and sew. I have been a busy bee these past 10 days, and I want to take a minute to share my creations.

I begin with a fun and colorful crib quilt:

I found the fabric on the markdown table at Joann's and thought this would be a stunning, eye-popping baby quilt or lap quilt. The blocks are 5" in a 9 Patch Pattern with black sashing to picture frame the colors and make them "pop".
Here's another shot from further away:

The backing will be a medium shade of purple solid. I bought some quilting fabric online with the last Hancock's sale that may work for the border. It's a black and purple batik done in wavy stripes. I plan to wait until the quilt is quilted to make my final selection since the wavy may be too much and detract from the simplicity of the quilt pattern and the fun of the colors. We shall see. Anyway, this was project number 1--my completed quilt top.

Next, I wanted to try a tutorial for wine bottle gift bags. I found a super easy tutorial online (darn it, I can't find it right this second but promise to post when I do). I have tons of scraps that need to become something--anything. This pattern doesn't take much time or fabric, but the results are good. Here, I used some old cotton scraps with a knit for the contrast at the handle. I think it turned out pretty cute:

As always, I shared with my neighbor across the street who immediately loved the style. She had a baby shower coming up and wanted to put French wine in a Paris themed wine bag. So she chose this fabric:

And here are the results:

I think they are great, though on hindsight, I wish I had quilted the one on the right like I did the one on the left. The trimmed handles are a black cotton out of my stash. It takes about an hour and a half per wine bag (including the cutting). Not bad for a personalized gift. I think the addition of a monogram or machine embroidery design would be super-fun, functional, and highly appreciated. The neighbor loved the set, which is always the most important aspect for me.

Last, I began the dimension quilt that will be a surprise gift for my youngest daughter. She HATES homemade, homespun, and anything that even vaguely smells of country chic. Enter: Hello Handsome; a quilt I found in Quilty magazine back in the spring:

I love the dimensional appearance of the quilt and decided it would be a fabulous wall hanging for her office. So off to Joann's I trotted to buy fabric. I got 1 yard each of cream (very light and almost white), light gray, dark gray, and 1 1/2 yards of black, Kona cotton.

This is a picture I took of the magazine photo:

And here are my strips stretched across the couch cushions:

Isn't the contrast absolutely stunning. And LOOK: my corners are lined up pretty well. I am so proud since this is my second pieced quilt and only the 6th quilt I've ever done. I think she will like it.

Well, time to get back to work. I plan to finish the Hello Handsome top before the end of the day today.

About Me

I am a nurse of 30 years and an avid sewer and exerciser. I love the feel of fabric and the level of accomplishment that results from creating one-of-a-kind clothes.
I graduate from a master's program in May 2010. With that degree, I will be changing my professional focus and will need to dress differently. I am on a quest to creating a selection of patterns that meet my needs, stand up to wear, are attractive, fit properly, and look more expensive than they are. Let's see if I can do it!